Cake of the Holiday Season

If you love anything chocolate and peppermint you will love these cake bars. The texture is ultra moist and fudgy. You would never guess these cake bars are 100% vegan and made with healthier ingredients as compared to other cakes you would find in stores. These are always a hit during the holiday season!

I love topping my cake bars with vanilla frosting, crushed candy canes, and a chocolate drizzle but the options are really endless. You could top with melted white or dark chocolate, cream cheese frosting, a glaze, etc.

You can also control how much peppermint flavor you want in this recipe by adjusting the amount of peppermint extract. If you are a peppermint lover like me, I would recommend using 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. If you want just the slightest hint of peppermint I would recommend 1/8 teaspoon.

Sugar: any granulated sugar will work. I used white sugar in this recipe. Be sure it is granulated and not a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup.

Vegan butter: any vegan butter will work. You can also substitute for liquid oil. If you aren’t vegan normal butter works too.

Nondairy milk: I used unsweetened almond milk. Any nondairy milk will work. If you aren’t vegan normal milk works too.

All-purpose flour: I haven’t tested any other flours. The closest option would be a 1:1 gluten-free flour.

Applesauce: I always use unsweetened applesauce. If you don’t want to use applesauce, you could use mashed banana, pumpkin, mashed sweet potato, or oil. I wouldn’t recommend substituting the applesauce though as the substitutions tend to change the texture a little.
Almond flour: I haven’t tested any other flours in this recipe.

Black cocoa powder:I love using black cocoa powder in this recipe as it gives a super rich chocolate flavor. If you don’t have this, you can use normal cocoa or cacao power.

Ingredients:

• Vegan butter

• Sugar

• Applesauce

• Nondairy milk

• Peppermint extract

• Baking powder

• All-purpose flour

• Almond flour

• Black cocoa powder

• Chocolate chips (optional)

Recipe:

• 6 tablespoons vegan butter

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 2/3 cup applesauce

• ½ cup nondairy milk

• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• ½ cup almond flour

• 1/3 cup black cocoa powder

• Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1.    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.   Line your brownie pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

2.    In a small bowl melt your butter.  Transfer to a larger bowl and add in the sugar, applesauce, nondairy milk, and peppermint extract. Stir well.

3.    Add in the baking powder, all-purpose flour, almond flour, and black cocoa powder.  Stir until a batter has formed. Optional: fold in chocolate chips.

4.    Transfer to baking pan. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once the cake is completely cooled, top with frosting of choice, crushed candy cane, and a chocolate drizzle. I used a store-bought frosting.

Be sure to store the cake bars in the refrigerator or freezer. The cake bars should last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can also store in the freezer to last longer.

If you try this recipe and enjoy it, I would love if you could press the “like” button at the bottom of this page or leave a comment. Either one of those really helps me out!

If you ever have any questions about a recipe or substitutions, don’t hesitate to reach out!